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Misogynist Harry Angstrom is the protagonist and complicated central character of John Updike's series of "Rabbit" novels, the first of which is Rabbit, Run. In his late twenties, Rabbit, as his friends call him, is a disgruntled former high school star athlete who is facing an overwhelming amount of change, including fathering a two year old son and caring for an expectant alcoholic wife.

Disillusioned by his marital union and parenting as a whole, Rabbit finds himself turning to narcissistically motivated physical affairs with women, including a prostitute. Rabbit's exploration of his self-identity weaves itself through the course of the first novel, and its subsequent editions.

Although many have criticized Updike's negative outlook on sixties society and the limitations of living a middle-class conformist, suburban life, Rabbit represents an undeniably common attitude in much of the disillusioned American population, who strive for the American Dream, only to find that they are very limited by social variables such as race, gender, and religious creed.

Despite the novel's initially criticism of being overtly misogynistic and portraying the American male in a negative light, Rabbit is arguably one of the most true-to-form heroes of contemporary American literature. Torn between a profound desire to live a more "full" life, Rabbit also recognizes that to some degree, the grass is always greener, and that his time should be more devoted to the "important" things in life. There may be hope for this character, as there may be hope for American society on the whole; however, this is left cautious up to the reader to decide.

Overall, Updike's Rabbit, Run is more of an in-depth character study than a plot-driven novel; so many readers who are searching for more entertainment and plot twists rather than thought-provoking prose should look elsewhere.

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